Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace: Late Franca header dents spirits at St Mary's

A late header from Matheus Franca earned Crystal Palace a point and further dented Southampton's spirits.

Southampton were denied just their third Premier League win of the season as Matheus Franca earned a last-gasp 1-1 draw for Crystal Palace.

The Premier League’s bottom side looked set for their first victory since the beginning of February but were undone in second-half stoppage time.

Palace nearly went in front inside two minutes, as Jean-Philippe Mateta picked up the ball from deep, ran with it unchallenged and struck an effort from outside the penalty area which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar.

But Southampton nudged ahead when Paul Onuachu's header made its way over the line despite Dean Henderson's best efforts at clawing the ball out.

Palace applied the pressure after the break, accumulating 0.6 of their 0.88 expected goals in the second half, with Eberechi Eze curling wide, though it was not until the 92nd minute that they restored parity.

Franca met Jefferson Lerma's cross at the near post and flicked a header goalwards, with Aaron Ramsdale unable to keep it out.

Southampton remain at the foot of the table on 10 points, one shy of the worst-ever Premier League points tally set by Derby County in 2007-08.

Palace are 12th, though they do have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to later this month.

Data Debrief: Sorry Saints throw it away

Southampton's relegation back to the Championship is all but a formality, and a major feature of their horrendous season has been an inability to hold on to leads once they have gone in front.

After Palace's late equaliser, Southampton have now lost 25 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, which is more than any other club.

Palace were minutes away from not scoring in a league match for the first time in 10 games, but Franca's header preserved their scoring streak, with the club having now netted in 11 consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since early 2019.

Oliver Glasner's men also kept hold of their unbeaten run on the road, with Palace not having lost in 10 away matches, picking up 22 points in the process.